2014 October 21 meeting minutes
New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance
Minutes of the October 21, 2014 meeting
Pane Room, Alexander Library
Present: E. Kim Adams, Georg Apgar, Ben Beede, Raymond Frey, Paul Israel, Maxine Lurie, Christie Lutz, Marc Mappen, Sandra Moss, Laura Poll, Gary Saretzky, Bob Vietrogoski, Richard Waldron, Lorraine Waldron, Jessica Meyers, and Carla Zimmerman.
Maxine Lurie, chairperson, convened the meeting at 3:05 pm.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting: The minutes of the April 3 meeting were approved.
Treasurers Report: Dick Waldron reported that the opening balance on April 1 was $1,187, and the closing balance on September 30 was $1,295. Dick stated that donations to NJSAA are now tax deductible. He will have to provide a fiscal report to the IRS in May, and is concerned that we might have to provide some information from previous years. Another issue is whether we should now provide individual donors with a confirmation of the amount they can deduct on their taxes. All of this is complicated, and for his good work as treasurer Dick received a round of applause.
Membership Report: Carla Zimmerman announced that we have 62 paid members, three of whom are new. It was agreed to resend the notice to unpaid members. The NJSAA website is now up to date, including award recipients. Carla asked for members to let her know of any errors. Laura has been helpful in creating a presence on the Internet for the NJSAA. Fifty-six people have “liked” the NJSAA page on Facebook. We should all “like” the page repeatedly, because likes get deleted after a while. Members should also post photographs and texts on Facebook; if you prefer send the material to Carla or Laura for them to post.
Author Awards: There were 13 submissions, from which two were selected. The 2014 recipient of the award in the Non-fiction scholarly category is Walter D. Greason for Suburban Erasure: How the Suburbs Ended the Civil Rights Movement in New Jersey (Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickenson University Press, 2013). The winner in the Non-fiction popular category is Leonard DeGraaf for his book Edison and the Rise of Innovation (New York: Sterling Publishing, 2013). Ben Beede noted that there was some discussion about award criteria on the part of the committee. Another issue is how the committee can be informed about newly published books. The New Jersey bibliographer at Rutgers might be helpful for that purpose. Also, we need to encourage publishers to provide multiple copies of nominated books to the committee.
Award for Librarianship. The recipient this year was Janet T. Riemer, Head of Preservation Emerita, Rutgers University. The award was presented at the Archives and History Day in October.
Teaching Award: Raymond Frey reported that only one nomination was received for the teaching award, despite publicity for the program. That one nominee, however, is very deserving of an award. [A second deliberately saved from last year was later discovered].
Graduate Student Award: Paul Israel reported that two submissions were received. The committee will meet to select the award recipient. Paul hopes to involve Brooke Hunter, the editor of the new publication “New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal,” on the award committee. We need to find former graduate students who produced worthy papers. A discussion followed about how digital journals receive a large number of hits. Historians are becoming accustomed to internet publishing.
Stellhorn Award for undergraduate research: It was noted that in the most recent round papers from students at Rutgers, Princeton, and the College of New Jersey were submitted; in all, five papers and four theses.
In considering the awards programs, there was a discussion of the need to have more NJSAA members on committees. This might help encourage more nominations. *
NJSAA Speakers Bureau: Laura is looking for speakers at forthcoming NJSAA meetings. For next October it might be good to have a talk on a Halloween theme. Another topic could be a presentation on maps and surveying.
Update on the 350th Anniversary: Maxine discussed 350th events for the remainder of 2014. More videos and blogs are going on the OfficialNJ350 website and there will be more pop-up stores. The Historical Commission’s November conference at Kean University will also focus on the 350th. It has been suggested that the committee that has overseen the 350th effort continue to keep the various sponsoring groups together.
Guest Speaker: After the business meeting, Bob Vietrogoski gave a presentation on “How New Jersey’s Governors Created the State Medical Education System.” Bob is the Special Collections, History of Medicine Librarian at the Rutgers University Libraries' George F. Smith Library of the Health Sciences.
Respectfully submitted,
Marc Mappen
NJSAA Secretary
Next meeting will be December 2, 2014. Following the meeting the book award winners will discuss their work.
*Members interested in serving on a committee should please contact Maxine N. Lurie, Carla Zimmerman, or the committee chair person.